CORRECTED-PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Jan 3

Jan 3 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

The Times

- Tesco Plc's former UK food boss John Scouler did not commit fraud but in fact helped to uncover accounting irregularities after ordering a junior employee to investigate problems in its commercial finance department, his lawyer told a court yesterday. bit.ly/2EFJTkA

- Ian Tyler, the chairman of Bovis Homes Group Plc , who admitted last year that the group had cut corners to reach City targets, is to become chairman of Amey Group, the infrastructure business. bit.ly/2lIbbhT

The Guardian

- Marks and Spencer Group Plc is selling 27 stores in Hong Kong and Macau to its longstanding franchise partner in the Asian region, Al-Futtaim. bit.ly/2lBx3w6

- BP Plc has said Donald Trump's sweeping changes to U.S. taxes will knock about $1.5 billion off its profits for the end of 2017. bit.ly/2CH3m3L

The Telegraph

- Arif Hussein, a former UBS Group AG trader who has been banned by Britain's regulator from financial services for alleged Libor-rigging, "simply followed" the Swiss bank's rules and so should not be barred from the sector, his lawyers will argue this week. bit.ly/2EGwHw6

- London city staff who spent the Christmas period racing to prepare for a major piece of EU legislation that goes live on Tuesday have been warned that meeting deadline does not mean the work is over. bit.ly/2CeTq0q

Sky News

- Ryanair Holdings Plc is seeking a licence from British regulators to safeguard against a hard Brexit amid little apparent progress on a new aviation deal between the UK and Europe. bit.ly/2lJUulV

- Chargemaster Plc IPO-CAP.L, Britain's biggest provider of infrastructure to the electric vehicle market, is plotting a 170 million pound ($231.12 million) bid to charge on to the London Stock Exchange. bit.ly/2A8HlYL

The Independent

- An accounting scandal plaguing the troubled owner of Poundland looked likely to deepen on Tuesday, after Steinhoff announced that it may have to restate even more historic accounts than previously expected. ind.pn/2A98pHq

- UK manufacturing cooled from a four-year high in December, according to the latest survey snapshot – although the sector retained its strong growth momentum. The manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index came in at 56.3 in the month, down from 58.2 in November, with any reading above 50 signalling expansion. ind.pn/2EEBaiD